Muriel Annie Caroline Press (''née'' Hoare, 1867 – 1937) was an English translator who published the first translations of ''

Laxdæla saga ''Laxdæla saga'' (), Old Norse ''Laxdœla saga'' (Old Norse pronunciation ) or ''The Saga of the People of Laxárdalur'', is one of the sagas of Icelanders. Written in the 13th century CE, it tells of people in the Breiðafjörður area in weste ...

'' and ''

Færeyinga saga ''Færeyinga saga'' (; Danish: ''Færingesagaen''), the saga of the Faroe Islanders, is the story of how the Faroes were converted to Christianity and became a part of Norway. Summary The saga was written in Iceland shortly after 1200. The auth ...

'' into English.

Life

She was born in London on 22 February 1867, the eldest of seven children of

Sir Samuel Hoare, 1st baronet Sir Samuel Hoare, 1st Baronet (7 September 1841 – 20 January 1915), was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1886 to 1906. Family Hoare was the eldest son of John Gurney Hoare (1810–1875) and Caro ...

, and his wife Katherine Louisa'', née'' Hart. Her brother was the politician Samuel John Gurney Hoare. In 1896 she married Edward Payne Press of Clifton. By 1903 they were living in Bristol.

Translations

In 1899 she translated ''Laxdæla saga'' into English with the help of 'a competent Icelander' (

Eiríkr Magnússon The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

), who revised the Icelandic text. This was the first complete English translation of the saga, which had been popularised in Britain by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

' poem 'The Lovers of Gudrun.' It had minimal critical apparatus but proved influential, being republished by

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

in 1906. In 1934 she also published the first translation into English of ''Færeyinga saga''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Muriel 1867 births 1937 deaths Writers from London 19th-century English translators Icelandic–English translators Old Norse studies scholars